CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
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     THE NEXT MORNING, Taylor woke early in order to catch Bellamy before he and Lincoln left for Mount Weather. Her eyes searched between the tents and beds set up on the ground, but she didn't spot anyone.

Octavia sat near the fire alone, the only person she managed to find. "Did Bellamy and Lincoln already leave?" she asked, Octavia looking up and shaking her head.

"They're over there," she responded, gesturing over to near Raven's tent where they were presumably still prepping.

The nearer she got, the closer the voices were, a few yards away from the tent. She approached, wasting no time in making her presence known.

"Bellamy," she said, smiling slightly at Lincoln before turning her attention to the man in question. "Can I talk to you? In private?"

He nodded obligingly and they made their way into the forest for a few minutes before they stopped, Taylor glancing away for a moment.

"If you're trying to talk me out of this, it's not going to work," he started, breaking the silence. Taylor only shook her head solemnly.

"I'm not here to do that," she replied truthfully. "I understand why you're doing it."

He didn't say anything and looked at her sadly. She stepped forward and pulled him into a hug, Bellamy embracing her tightly. Taylor leaned her head into his neck and tried to stop the tears from flowing.

"Please don't die," she whispered, voice cracking in sadness.

"I'll try my best not to," he joked, a halfhearted smirk gracing his features as he hugged her tighter.

When they pulled back, their faces were mere inches apart. She could feel his uneven breath on her face, her heart pounding. Though, it wasn't pounding in a bad way. It was pounding in the way it did every single time she saw him lately.

Taylor made no move to distance herself and neither did Bellamy. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face gently and she moved in closer, suddenly extremely aware of her surroundings.

Bellamy seemed frozen, unsure of what to do next. Taylor closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against his softly. He kissed back, cupping her face in his hands gently, pent up feelings evident in the way his lips moved against hers.

For a while, they stood there and when they finally broke apart their breathing was slightly heavier, foreheads pressed together.

"Taylor, I..." Bellamy trailed off in a whisper, at a loss for words in that moment.

She embraced him again and kissed him on the cheek, muttering a, "May we meet again."

Taylor stepped back and looked him in the eyes, her stomach dropping at the thought of never seeing him again.

"May we meet again," he muttered back in a heartbroken tone. Her stomach dropped even further.

__________

Taylor headed back to camp with a majority of the others, leaving Clarke behind in Tondc to speak for them there. She didn't ask her to stay, and even if she did, Taylor wouldn't have regardless.

She stood next to Kane, watching as the gates opened, Indra leading a group of grounders in with her head held high.

"Monin," Kane greeted with a smile once they stopped in front of the ship where they were standing. He had certainly picked up more of the language than Taylor had. "I thought we'd start with a reception, then move onto training. We have a lot to learn from each other."

Indra only stared at him blankly, obviously wishing to challenge his authority. But with the Commander's orders, she had no choice.

"If you would just place your weapons here," Taylor directed, gesturing to a large bucket fit to hold an absurd amount of weapons.

"Only our guards are armed here," Kane informed with a nod, still smiling at Indra.
She complied, throwing her sword and multiple knives into the bucket, the rest of her men following her lead. They turned and began to make their way through the halls of the Ark.

"Thank you for agreeing to this, Indra," Kane voiced his appreciation kindly, navigating his way through the halls without issue.

"We're here on the Commander's orders," she responded bitterly. "I agreed to nothing."

"Please," Kane direction, pointing her in the direction of the room where the reception would commence. "We'll begin in a moment. Taylor?"

Taylor nodded and told Indra, "Just this way."

She glanced back at the angry woman for a moment. "Rest assured, I haven't agreed to anything either. But this agreement is how we're going to save our people, all of them," she said quickly.

Her comment garnered no response. Their own people already in the room acquired an immediate unease to Indra and her warriors's arrival. They all fit into the room tightly and Kane stepped to the middle of the room and began to speak.

"I know we don't have a lot in common. But we do have a common enemy, and a common goal. But for us to reach it and to get our people out of Mount Weather, we need to work together," he began, his voice practiced with speaking in front of crowds. "Ogeda. Skaikru en Trikru."

Kane continued speaking for a few more moments, only to be interrupted by a skirmish near the edge of the room. Murphy had pushed a Grounder threateningly, the two looking just about ready to beat each other to a pulp.

"Mr. Murphy," Kane said, louder this time. "Apologize to that man."

"For what?" Murphy snapped. "He's the one who came at me."

"Two days work detail," Kane sentenced, no pause or hesitation preceding the punishment. He was not ready to deal with any sort of nonsense.

"Work detail? I told you I didn't—"

"Care to make it three?" Kane interrupted louder, eyebrows raised at the young man.
Taylor approached Murphy and the man, grabbing Murphy by the arm and tugging it lightly, gesturing toward the door.

"Come on," she urged and Murphy followed bitterly.

"You're going to burn just like your friend," the Grounder mocked, Taylor stopping dead in her tracks at the mention of Finn. Murphy turned around and punched the man immediately following his words.

That was when the room descended into absolute chaos. Everyone started fighting, riled up by the one fight. One turned into about twenty.

__________

"If you do anything like that again, we're going to have some problems, Murphy," Taylor scolded in the hall, once all of the fighting had broken up and the training had finally commenced.

"You don't have any authority over me anymore," he drawled, looking at her with raised eyebrows, challenging her authority with just that look.

"You may be right. But I didn't let Finn die for this alliance not to work. And I didn't let Bellamy into that mountain for this alliance not to work," she snapped, looking at him seriously. "And I might not be the one with the authority, but I have say with the ones that do."

__________

She found Raven beside the radio, working on a large drawing on a board that detailed the schematics of Mount Weather.

"Hey," Taylor alerted, causing Raven to put down her marker and glance back at her. She put her hand in the pocket and squeezed the necklace that was placed there gently. "There's something I need to tell you."

Raven took a breath and looked at the floor in guilt. "Before you do, I'm sorry, Taylor. I'm sorry for snapping at you," she apologized, her face sad and not exactly expecting forgiveness.

"It's okay, Raven. I honestly get it. I think we're all having a bit of trouble," Taylor said, stepping forward a few steps and Raven nodded quietly. "You more than anyone, he meant a lot to you."

There was a palpable pause in the air before Taylor went on.

"And you meant a lot to him. Before he died, he — he," she continued, starting to choke up on the words she could barely imagine herself saying. "He told me to tell you that he was sorry. And he wanted me to give you this."

She removed the raven necklace from her pocket and held it out to the girl, the small charm dangling from the chain.

Raven stared at it tearfully before accepting it, looking down at it in her palm before letting out a sob.

"Thank you, Taylor," she whispered, walking forward to wrap her in a hug. Taylor squeezed back as hard as she could manage, patting Raven's back in comfort.

"I'll give you some time," she responded and Raven nodded, turning away and looking at her hands. When Taylor turned away and stepped into the hall, her chest hurt.

As she walked down the halls and emerged outside, a weight was off her shoulders and she thought of Finn. Maybe that was her way of saying goodbye.

Night had fallen and her people and the Grounders were eating together after the day of training. She spotted Octavia, looking worse for wear next to Kane.

"What happened to you?" Taylor questioned as she approached, sitting down next to her. Bruises and cuts littered her face, the faint light of camp illuminating her beaten features. It was difficult to tell whether if training had gone well or not.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," she replied simply, shrugging with a minuscule smile on her lips.

"I'm just asking you to look out for your people," Kane told her, clearly the two of them finishing a conversation.

"I am," Octavia said, standing up abruptly and going across the camp to meet Indra. Taylor glanced between them and Kane, confusion on her features.

"I'm guessing I missed something?" In her confusion, though, she couldn't help but be proud of Octavia for trying to bring peace.

Kane simply looked at her, conveying much with his expression and then glanced at his hands. Taylor fixed her eyes on Octavia and Indra, praying that the alliance would hold.